Part 8 (2/2)
”Picklespig wartspoltergeistsHere it is, poly up from time to time, he smiled at the men occasionally, but not in awith a mournful expression as Mika tried to commit the words of the spell to ic that Mika always had theMany of the words rhy when said individually In and of the theht intonation and eot results The speaker could only hope the Great She Wolf would guard his tongue and prevent hi
If a word did co terrible would happen The spell would merely fail, canceled out by ineptitude The only penalty would be being forced to learn it again, for all memory of the spell would vanish once it was used, even if used incorrectly
It hen the speaker got the spell wrong and was not lucky that the trouble began For then, in spite of the fact that some element of the spell was incorrect, the spell worked-but incorrectly, frequently heaping devastating consequences on the inept ic-user who had conjured the spell improperly
These effects usually wore off within the time span allotted to the spell But soic-user or an innocent victim would be killed, maimed, or altered irrevocably as had aled Celia's iven him if Tam had actually eaten the cat
In spite of his boastful words, Mika was very worried that heOne had to be at least at the seventh level to use the Polye from a human form into that of an animal
Seventh level was still several years away in ability Years of intense study But nothing else would do! If Mika turned hireat white snol, he could slit the top of the wagon with his sharp beak and slip inside Once he had explored the dark interior of the wagon with his superior owl vision, he would let himself out and fly away undetected The plan was foolproof Who would suspect an owl?
Taht So Tam would know, but fortunately, he couldn't tell
The words marched round and round in his brain, till he could repeat theht he had the spell et a phrase or blither andhion
Mika stared into the forest dreauess Pearls from the kelp beds lustrous beads that he could drape round his woreat long rope of pearls
Mika sighed deeply, looking off into the dark night, seeing Celia in hisbut a string of pearls Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, Matin appeared on the moss next to Celia, reached out for the rope of pearls andMika straightened up with a frown on his face
”Proble unseen and unheard at Mika's side
”What! Oh! Uy That sort of thing,” Mika said brusquely
”Sorry to intrude, sir Just wanted to report that all is quiet The last of the men have turned in and we'll be ready for an early start You should try and get so day”
”Thanks, lad I'll be turning in soon,” said Mika, notinto ”Sleep you well”
”And deep,” henomad nodded and turned away
Mika continued to study the elusive words until he was quite sick of theing the precious pouch from his shoulder, toured the camp once more
It was as Klaren had said, everyone was asleep Even the Guildsman snored as heartily as Hornsbuck, thanks no doubt to the largess of his wineskin
Unfortunately, the wagon that was Mika's objective stood closest of all to the bonfire, which still blazed high against the dareat snohite owl, that tried to enter the wagon would be easily seen
Mika fretted, wishi+ng that the circu another night, possibly even longer, until conditions were more favorable, but his natural iratification, whispered, ”Do it now Do it now” And it was iue
Mika and Ta the second and then the third of the springs that had risen to the surface, then further still, forcing their way into the thickest, ht of a fallen phost tree drew hih, shaggy surface, trying to still his ha heart
As the moht have turned back at that last moment, but Ta plaintively, as though begging him not to try the spell Mika's resolve hardened
”It'll be all right,” he reassured the wolf Then he undressed, placing his leggings, cloak and boots alongside the glowing log Why burden the oith clothing?
He picked up the book and the feather, quickly found his place and scanned the words one last tiretted that one could not read a spell aloud but must have it memorized It was also necessary to close one's eyes and picture that which you hoped to accomplish, at the same time that you said the words
Mika squared his shoulders Then, he tucked the book back into the pouch and cleared his throat nervously He sighed deeply and clutched the feather with deter left, he was as ready as he would ever be
He closed his eyes and started chanting One Two Three sentences done! Four Five Six Uh oh, a slight bobble on his intonation as nervousness gripped his throat Mika paused, waiting for the knowledge that he had failed But there was nothing Maybe it was still all right He continued Seven Eight Tam whined Nine damn! Now his nose itched Ten Done! He kept his eyes closed, unable to look, knowing that he would soon be aware of whether the spell had workedor failed
Mika felt dizzy and a bit sick to his stomach He put out an arers He opened his eyes and for a minute the world spun dizzily around hi Ta and hard, then sniffed hi black nose that would be so easy to nip with a sharp beak, and then lay down on the carpet of dead leaves with a great sigh
Nip Tam's nose with a beak? Whoa! Mika's eyes swiveled around, and he sahy he had been on a level with Tam The spell had worked! He had really done it! He, Mika, a lowly, lazy, buic-user had pulled off a seventh-level skill! He had always known he could do it Why did everyone think this e fluffy white chest and took a step forward, feeling the need to strut, to get the hang of this owl stuff
Then he stepped on a yarpick thorn that pierced the botto hooting with pain
Wait a minute, this wasn't supposed to happen! Thorns weren't supposed to stick you if you were an ols had tough, scaly feet with long curved talons You only got stuck if you had big, soft, floppy hu heart and letting out the owl equivalent of a hu, soft, floppy hu out at the bottooofed! Mika sto curses He circled around the log and walked right over Taress with mournful eyes
Mika kicked a stump It hurt He tore a hunk of wood out of a branch with his beak Blehh, it tasted terrible damn! What now? Would he be stuck like this forever?
Mika forced hi at Tam with fierce owl eyes, which he was not pleased to notice had retained their hu the owl's ability to see in the dark Curses! Why did nothing ever go right!
Mika continued glaring at Taive hi to aze
Finally, unable to vent his anger on anyone other than hied his wings, which he had to admit were very handsome, and adht, so he'd botched things a little But all things considered, they'd worked fairly well for a ic-user So he had human feet, the better to land with, except on little branches, of course
He had to look on the bright side of things It ht and wound up with hands instead of wings That would definitely havedifficult
Well, there was no sense in standing aroundcale combination would disappear with the dissolution of the spell It was tis once or twice, trying to get the feel of being an owl But there were too many bushes and lis to their full length Ducking his head down, he pushed his way through the underbrush, a subdued Ta behind
Actually, his feet worked pretty well Probably better than those little stuned this way in the first place H, she'd rethink the whole owl design